Quarterly Journal of Political Science > Vol 2 > Issue 1

Small States, Big Pork

William R. Hauk Jr., Economics Department, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, USA, hauk@moore.sc.edu , Romain Wacziarg, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business, wacziarg@gsb.stanford.edu
 
Suggested Citation
William R. Hauk Jr. and Romain Wacziarg (2007), "Small States, Big Pork", Quarterly Journal of Political Science: Vol. 2: No. 1, pp 95-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/100.00005048

Publication Date: 01 Mar 2007
© 2007 W.R. Hauk and R. Wacziarg
 
Subjects
Legislature,  Representation,  Democracy
 

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In this article:
Theory and Evidence on Legislative Malapportionment 
Earmarks Data from the 2005 Highway Bill 
Empirical Results 
Conclusion 
Acknowledgments 
References 

Abstract

Using data on authorizations from the 2005 Highway Bill, we show that the legislative allocation of pork barrel spending by U.S. state (measured by the value of transportation earmarks per capita) greatly favors smaller states. We exploit the difference between two versions of the bill: the version that was passed by the House and the compromise version passed in conference committee. Our empirical results provide strong evidence in favor of theories of legislative malapportionment.

DOI:10.1561/100.00005048